Madness of the Horde King - Zoey Draven Page 0,138

wish, for Jarun never had any intention of rejoining a horde or living in the wild lands. He was a few years older than her, than us. He wanted to stay within the city, the city she had always been so curious about. He had his eyes on a position in the Dothikkar’s private council. He had always been ambitious, with a taste for power,” I said, the words bitter on my tongue. “To him, serving at the Dothikkar’s side was his ultimate prize. And Devina loved him, or at least believed she did. He had promised to make her his wife. They were going to marry before the end of the season, though she was young still and my father did not approve. Nor did I. But Devina had always had a will of her own. She made her choice and it was Jarun.”

Vienne remained silent, as if she sensed I needed to get this out quickly. I still remembered the day she had stood up to our father about the matter. I had never seen our father so angry, but she would not be swayed.

“My sister was beautiful. She possessed the kind of beauty that drew people in, even the worst of them,” I told her, fighting to keep the rage and grief contained within me. “There was a member of the Dothikkar’s council. Ollisan. One day, he saw Jarun with Devina in Dothik and from that moment on, he coveted her. He wanted to possess her as his. He grew obsessed with her. From that day on, he grew closer with Jarun. He offered to mentor him, to whisper in the Dothikkar’s ear to give him a place at his table, in his great hall, but Ollisan had a price. A single price for everything that Jarun ever wanted, an answer to his ambitions and security for his future.”

Horror was laced within Vienne’s tone. “He wanted Devina?”

“Lysi. If Jarun would give him Devina—like she was a possession, something to be traded—then Ollisan would pave the road for him to the Dothikkar’s council, which was the only thing he ever truly wanted. But Ollisan was cruel. Twisted. He was no better than a monster. And so one night, after Jarun agreed to Ollisan’s terms, Jarun led him to our home. I think Jarun believed that if Devina loved him as much as she claimed, she would do this for him. She would make this sacrifice for his dreams.”

My jaw tightened. My gaze flicked to the shadows behind her but they were still empty.

“Devina was alone that night. My mother was working to provide us with gold, so we could eat. My father was drinking that gold away, unhappy and restless away from the wild lands. And I…” I growled, my hands tightening around her. “I was wandering the city. I had seen more and more shadows since we came to Dothik. In my own way, I was trying to escape them.”

“Davik,” Vienne whispered, her eyes glassy with whatever she heard in my tone.

I could almost smell the filth of the capital, the raucous laughter and sharp scent of vomit in the air. I tried to shake it from my mind, focusing on Vienne’s alluring and comforting scent instead. She still smelled of kuveri, as if the scent was forever in her skin.

“That night, Ollisan and Jarun went to our home,” I said slowly. “It was there that Ollisan raped her…while—while Jarun watched. He told me later that he didn’t know that was what Ollisan intended. That everything that happened that night was unintended, out of control, and a product of fear. He swore it on Kakkari. But his word meant nothing to me.”

The tears began to drip from Vienne’s eyes and she held still, absorbing my words into her, as ugly and horrifying as they were.

“The events that happened next are still unclear to me,” I said, my nostrils flaring. “And I will only ever know a fraction of the fear that Devina felt that night. I felt something was wrong. I felt her inside me, this frantic thing scratching within my heart. We had always been connected. We always will be. So when I felt that…I began to return home. But I was too late.”

“What—what happened?”

“I think...I think that my parents returned home, though I am not sure if they returned together or separately. They saw Devina, Ollisan, and Jarun. My father was drunk. He had long hung up his darukkar sword and so he had no